Chapter 445
“Ma’am!” Keen’s voice cracked with urgency as he saw Seraphina heading for the door.
“Let her go,” Bruce interjected suddenly, his voice low and steady. “Staying here is only gonna twist the
knife in her heart even more.” Keen hesitated at Bruce’s words, his gaze lingering on Seraphina’s
retreating figure until she was out of sight.
As Seraphina stepped out of the hospital, her driver, who had been caught in traffic, had just pulled up.
She yanked open the car door, slid into the backseat, and gave the driver one simple direction, “Take
me to Reynolds Vista Retreat.”
25 F 8 F
The driver caught one glimpse of Seraphina’s stony expression and didn’t dare to ask questions. With a
quick nod, he started the engine and they were off.
The road to the retreat was unusually clear, a fact that only added to the driver’s anxiety. Seraphina’s
pallor was rming – he could only imagine what awaited her at the Reynolds Vista Retreat.
About thirty minutester, they arrived at the grand entrance of the retreat. Seraphina got out of the car
without a word and headed straight inside. She was greeted by a scene of chaos – the staff was
picking up the aftermath of a storm.
Broken vases, a shattered ss coffee table, and puddles of water mixed with jarring sshes of red
covered the floor. It wasn’t just the floor that was stained; the sofa, the tables, and other surfaces bore
silent witness to the bloodshed.
This blood belonged to just one person.
Seraphina couldn’t bear to imagine the horrible things that had led to this moment, but seeing the
wreckage before her, shemanded in a steely voice, “Stop cleaning. Now.”
Everyone turned to look at her, their faces still etched with panic. They were at a loss for words.
“Leave the living room as it is,” Seraphina instructed firmly. “Whatever’s been moved, put it back. No
more tampering with evidence, or you can exin yourselves to the cops.”
Without waiting for a response, she ascended the staircase, leaving the staff in stunned silence.
Reaching the top, Seraphina made a beeline for Gloria’s room.
The door was ajar, and through the crack, she could hear Gloria’s panicked voice, “Where’s Leandro?
What’s happened to him?” Her voice was tinged with hysteria. “It was me… I stabbed him, didn’t I?”
Karan was inside, trying to soothe Gloria, though her voice was close to breaking, “It’s okay, it’s okay.
Leandro’s going to be fine. Just calm down…”
But Gloria persisted, her voice rising in desperation, “Is he badly hurt? Tell me how he is now – tell me!”
With a forceful push, Seraphina swung the door wide open and stood at the threshold, “I’ll tell you how
he is.”
Gloria’s face drained of color at the sight of her. Karan’s expression darkened, and she stepped
forward to block Seraphina, “What are you doing here? Isn’t this mess enough for you? Get out!”
“Karan, didn’t you hear her? She wants to know how Leandro is doing. Well, I’m here to satisfy her
curiosity,” Seraphina said, trying to step past her to reach Gloria.
“No, you can’t do this!” Karan blocked her firmly. “Do you want to drive her mad? You can’t be here –
leave!”
“Karan!” Gloria was pale as a ghost and called out with a trembling voice, “Let her speak!”
Karan froze but didn’t turn to face Gloria. She just looked at Seraphina with pleading eyes, shaking her
head ever so slightly.
Seraphina met her gaze and said calmly, “Don’t worry, I’m not here to drive anyone mad. I’m here to
help her face reality.”
Breaking free from Karan’s grasp, Seraphina approached Gloria’s bedside.
Gloria looked up at her with red-rimmed eyes, filled with loathing, yet waiting for an answer.
Seraphina asked, “You know what you’ve done, right?” she said coldly, towering over the bed. “With a
kitchen knife, you stabbed your own son. Do you remember that?”
Gloria’s lips trembled again.
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“Do you want to know what the doctors said?” Seraphina continued, mercilessly. “Spleenceration and
major blood vessel damage. They say there’s a 50% chance he’ll pull through… Are you happy with
those odds?”
Gloria stared at her, wordless.
Seraphina sneered, “You probably have no clue how serious it is. Want me to spell it out for you?”
Without waiting for an answer, Seraphina pulled out her phone./
Karan’s tears were falling freely now, “Seraphina! Stop this – please!”
Ignoring her, Seraphina pulled up an article and read out to Gloria in a chilling tone, “Spleen rupture is
dangerous, with a mortality rate of
10:31
3% -23%. Not too scary, right? But add major blood vessel damage, and the mortality rate skyrockets
to 70% – seventy percent. Still, you have a 30% chance of keeping your son. He might stille back
to you, and call you ‘mom’!”
As Seraphina uttered “70%,” the color drainedpletely from Gloria’s face. And when Seraphina
finished, Gloria lunged at her in a frenzy, pping at her face, screaming, “Lies! All lies!”
“Mrs. Reynolds!” Karan eximed, her voiceced with a mix of shock and urgency as he made a
move to intervene. “Seraphina, stop!”
“Let her hit me!” To everyone’s surprise, Seraphina stood her ground, motionless, her gaze locked on
Gloria. “You might as well take me out too. I mean, what’s one more casualty? After all, you’ve already
hurt my son, Leandro. Oh, but not just us, remember Vivian Smith? Do you recall who she is?”
“Seraphina!” Karan’s face paled, “Please, no more words!”
“Vivian, the girlfriend Leandro brought to the Reynolds Manor eight years ago.” Seraphina’s hand
gently brushed away a tear from the corner of her eye as she enunciated each word deliberately. “The
woman with the teardrop mole beneath her eye. Do you remember her now?”
Gloria shuddered violently, her strength seemingly drained as she struggled to maintain her gaze on
Seraphina, unable to utter a single word.
“You despised her. Hated her for sharing the same teardrop mole as your husband’s mistress. Hated
her for stealing your son’s affections, so you pushed her off the balcony!”
“You loathed my son because, like those other bastards your husband fathered, he carried a stigma
you couldn’t stand, so you terrified him into silence when he was just three years old!”
“You hated me because I was the daughter of the woman your husband truly adored. And so, you even
despised my child, your own flesh and blood, your grandson, to the point of brandishing a knife at him!”
“You resented your husband for making you endure all this, wishing you could just take him out too!”
“And what was the result? You ended up driving that knife into the body of the only son who ever loved
you!”
“Do you even remember all the things you’ve done? Have you counted them? Do you have any idea
how much sin you’ve amassed?” Seraphina’s voice was icy as she continued, “You were dealt a bad
hand in marriage, that’s true. You could’ve clung to it, or you could’ve let go. But you, you didn’t do
anything. All you do is take your misfortunes out on others, making them shoulder your pain!”
“Why not just torch the whole Reynolds family, huh?” Seraphina challenged. “Burn them all. It could be
a funeral pyre for your marriage-and for your son as well. Wouldn’t that please you?”